Dynasty Warriors 7 - Playstation 3

After the experimental (and largely divisive) Dynasty Warriors 6, fans were worried the series had lost its way. Dynasty Warriors 7 on the PlayStation 3 is the definitive apology letter to those fans. It is a massive, cinematic redemption arc that manages to be the most emotionally resonant entry in the entire franchise. If you’ve ever dismissed this series as "just button mashing," this is the game that will make you stay for the drama. The Narrative: A Cinematic Masterpiece The biggest win for DW7 is the Story Mode. For the first time, the game tells the story kingdom-by-kingdom rather than character-by-character. This allows for a tight, focused narrative with seamless transitions between cutscenes and gameplay—no more jarring loading screens in the middle of a dramatic moment. The Jin Kingdom: The addition of the Jin faction is a game-changer. It finally extends the story past the traditional "Battle of Wuzhang Plains" ending, showing the actual unification of China. Humanized Heroes: The writing here is surprisingly deep. Characters aren't just archetypes; they feel like real people with tragic arcs. The death scenes in this game actually land with emotional weight. Gameplay: Dual-Wielding and Customization DW7 ditched the "Renbu" system of the previous game and returned to the classic Square-Triangle combo roots, but with a major twist: Dual-Wielding. Switching on the Fly: You can equip any two weapons and swap them mid-combo with R1. Each weapon type has a "Switch Attack" that keeps the flow of battle going. The Seal System: Weapons now have slots for "Seals," allowing you to customize your stats (increased reach, better defense, elemental damage). It adds a layer of RPG-lite strategy that makes the grind feel rewarding. Skill Trees: Each of the 60+ characters has a dedicated skill tree, giving you a tangible sense of progression as you unlock new moves and Musou attacks. Conquest Mode: The New "Free Mode" Since the Story Mode locks you into specific characters for narrative accuracy, Conquest Mode is where the real freedom lies. It’s a grid-based map of China where you fight battles to unlock cities, weapons, and legendary animals. It feels like a simplified version of DW Empires and provides dozens of hours of replayability after the credits roll. PROS Best Storytelling in the Series: Hands down the most immersive way to experience the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Massive Roster: Over 60 unique officers, all meticulously detailed with vibrant costumes. Dual-Weapon System: Offers incredible variety; you can play a heavy hitter with a swift sub-weapon to balance things out. Seamless Transitions: The "movie-to-game" flow makes you feel like you’re playing through a high-budget historical epic. Co-op Availability: Local split-screen and online co-op for Conquest Mode make it a great social experience. CONS The PS3 "Install" Wait: Like many late-era PS3 games, the initial install is long, and load times can be a bit sluggish compared to the 360 version. Visual "Pasty" Look: The PS3 version has very high color saturation, which can sometimes make the environments look a bit blurry or "washed out" in bright areas. Standard Repetitiveness: If you already hate the "one vs. one thousand" loop, this won't change your mind—it’s still a button-masher at its core. Overall Input Dynasty Warriors 7 is a masterclass in how to revive a stalling franchise. It prioritizes the "human" element of the Three Kingdoms while providing the most polished version of the classic combat system. It’s the "Snyder Cut" of the Musou world—epic, dramatic, and unapologetically massive. Reviewer Pro-Tip: Play through the Jin Kingdom last! The story is designed to be experienced in the order of Shu, Wei, Wu, and then Jin for the most impactful narrative payoff. Also, don't ignore the Scholar in the cities during Conquest Mode—answering his trivia questions is the fastest way to earn gold for those high-end weapon upgrades! Who is this for? History buffs, fans of cinematic action, and any Dynasty Warriors veteran who felt burned by the previous installment.

To me, this title is the 2nd best of the series, tagging slightly behind Dynasty Warriors 2 for the PS2. The Story mode is far superior to the Musou modes of the previous versions because it has considerably less logical fallacies. In other DW games you'd play the same character from the beginning of the story right up to the unification of the land. DW7 has a far more realistic and historically accurate way of telling the story. This makes the game way more enjoyable when you've actually read the Three Kingdoms books. I love the fact that for example when you're playing the Wei story and you get to Chibi, you lose the battle but instead of just losing it you have to make sure you retreat to safety and defeat all the generals on your way out. It made no sense whatsoever in the other DW games to have Wei win this battle, which was one of history's most devastating defeats. The only gripe I have with the new story system is that you can't switch difficulty at any stage. Which brings me to probably the worst thing about DW7, which is the difficulty gaps. This has plagued the DW series since its first incarnation in varying degrees of severity. Normal difficulty is way, way to easy, I don't even want to know what it's like to play on easy or beginner. But then the flip-side of this is that hard and chaos are often too hard unless you've spent a lot of time powering up your character in conquest mode. I did not have this issue in the last game, DW6, so I was a little disappointed with it this time around. The problem isn't that generals hit too hard, hell even Lu Bu is a joke now. The problem is archers and cavalry units that hit you harder than a general's musou attack. I can't stand playing normal mode anymore on my under-developed characters, but hard mode is just too frustrating when a squad of puny archers mows you down like you're nothing. I was really happy to see that KOEI finally, after like 20 years or making these games have decided to add Jin to the equation. They've never really been featured much in older "Three Kingdoms" games because of the controversy regarding the legitimacy of the Jin Empire. KOEI has always tried to follow the popular part of the story, mostly revolving about Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc. I think it's a good sign that they finally added Jin's officers and thankfully they're not just copies of other characters, they actually gave most of them unique weapons and play-styles. What really shocked me though was that other than Story and Conquest mode there are no other play styles. I personally don't really miss the other play modes much but I can see why others would and I'm not sure why KOEI did this. Don't get me wrong I am very happy that they spent a lot of time making the Story Mode good, but I see a lot of people complain about the lack of features and I think it's justified. Conquest mode, while fun, seems to consist mostly of completely random battles and superfluous RPG elements. I don't really get the point behind the weapon crafting/buying system, or the weapon swap feature. The former is just not needed for this type of game, and the latter was just poorly executed. There is almost no point in using weapon switching because with 2 (for some officers 3) musou bars and the EX attacks we really don't need to make our characters do more stuff. And on that note, KOEI really made ranged characters too powerful in this installment of DW, I started a hard difficulty Wei story mode and killed Lu Bu by using Xiahou Yuan's basic attack over and over during the battle against Dong Zhuo. In contrast the close-up fighters like Sun Ce are far more difficult to play which is a shame. The voice acting is so much better for this title. Whoever coached the English voice actors regarding Chinese pronunciation of names really deserves a raise. I seriously hated the way they butchered the names in the previous games so it's nice to seem them actually try this time. Of course the Japanese voice acting (which you can download free from PSN) is far superior but that's to be expected. In summary, here are the good and bad things about this game. The good: - Story mode is better than Musou mode - Great voice acting - Conquest mode is a good challenge - Crisp graphics and good music score - Sima Yi's Musou laugh (seriously it's amazing) The bad: - Too much of a gap concerning difficulty - Limited play modes - Worst.camera.ever - Jin officers are waaaaay to westernized (Sima Zhao is a Californian surfer dude I kid you not) - Cao Cao's hair

I hesitated about getting this game, because it's new, and expensive, and I thought I play maybe just a bit too much of three kingdoms (DW5, DW6, Strikeforce in the DW series alone). However, the reviews are amazingly positive, so I bought it. And it is a great choice indeed. Before the review, I would like to say, I am actually not yet half way through Shu storyline alone, and of course haven't started conquest mode, so this review is somewhat limited for now. But here it is anyway. Graphics in this game is quite nice in my opinion. The intro is especially splendid, and cutscenes are so much fun to watch. Obviously, it's NOT God of War and quite far from that. But still, good enough for me. Of course, I haven't played that many PS3 games, so my words aren't worth much in that aspect. Also, I am having a lot of trouble tuning the contrast and colour on my TV just right for this game for some strange reason. The default all 50 setting gives a waaaayyyy too sharp contrast and way too saturated colours, so. In game motions are generally smooth and fluid, very comfortable. My PC version of DW6 lags quite a bit (and results in my frequent death, really) when there are too many enemies on screen (of course, it might be a PC version issue? But my laptop is I5 core and by no means too old school to play DW6). Haven't noticed any frame rate issue with DW7 though. Camera, as in all DW games (or, I would venture to say, as in most hack and slash games), is the one true headache in this game. Sometimes too quick a motion will result in really bizzare and "are you f***** kidding me" camera switches. But I did notice that it's actually a lot better than in DW6 and DW5. So there is improvement on that front certainly. Combat system is VERY fun and I really like it. I started out on DW6, and for the longest time I only like the combat system in DW6 and bemoaned the lack of infinitely strung combo in all other DW games. (Shows that I am really just a button smasher, yes I know). But the system in DW7 actually really made me like it. Jump attack and movement+attack are so much fun. And all those different combos you can pull! And the best part, learning those combos is uber easy. Even a casual gamer and your novice button smasher like me can pull off fun things. Also, every character has SUCH unqiue combos and attacks, which makes it even more fun. And all those creative musou attacks! So far my favourite has to be Pang Tong. That fire phoenix skateboard KILLS, literally and figuratively. (My only complaint yet: why is Guan Yu SOOO difficult to use and his attacks so boring, totally does not seem to register with his God of War status! Tears.) A little more on combat and weapon.I am beginning to think that the second weapon is the most fun piece of DW7. Definitely USE your second weapon; even if the character is as designed into his primary weapon as Zhuge Liang, the switch attacks can be very useful. For others, a high-level, three stars non-ex weapon can be even more useful than primary weapon in some situations. Jiang Wei with Guan Yu's pike is just splendid, and I use that heavy pike for smashing ballista and siege engines; it's that faster. And the switch attacks are highly interesting. Now the best part of this game---- no, I wont' say "story"; I will have to say: RHYTHM. I am a hardcore Three Kingdoms fan; read all existing primary histories of that period, and I know the stories like the back of my hand. I am actually slightly less familiar with the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, mostly because I really don't like the novel. (This is a complaint common to history buffs and fans of historical characters; that novel just doesn't do people justice, even thought it is very entertaining.) Of course if you are a Chinese it's kinda hard to NOT know stories of ROTK well; they are everywhere. So I didn't get the kick out of finally learning about and understanding the whole story from DW7. I was only surprised that it is actually THAT true to the novel. But the method of storytelling, the rhythm of that game REALLY knocked me off my feet. You are dropped right into the conflict, and it unfolds there, with only pauses for breath and nothing else. The seamless flow of animation to gaming is already discussed quite a bit, so I won't labor that point too much. But even load screen narrations flow wonderfully well in this game, and I am actually reluctant to skip them (haven't skipped one as of yet)!! (Even though, the translation can be strange. If I get one more line about Liu Bei's "purity"...) It almost feels like that you are living the story, going from one battlefield to the next, with no end in sight (even if you actually know where the end is). People come into your field of vision and exist, as they do in real life. Basically, you get thrown into the world, and it's hard to exist. There is, literally, no place to stop. A river of actions, drama, romance, and very exciting to ride through. A final goodie about the rhythm of this game: it's fast. Even for someone who knows all the twists and turns of the story, this game moves at a vigorous pace, and very exhilirating, so it should be even more so for those who don't know the story. I am playing Folklore at the same time, and my biggest complaint is how insanely slow the story moves. Finally, after all those good things, my major complaint: as usual, voice acting. I have NEVER figured out why the English version of DW can't use Japanese character names. (For example, Ryuubi Gentoku instead of Liu Bei Xuande, Sunsaku instead of Sun Ce.) Most Japanese names are a lot of a less mouthful to pronounce. But at least "Cow Cow" is gone, thank god. Nothing can beat the atrocity that is DW5's voice acting, but this is still bad, IMHO. In conclusion, I really liked this game, and consider it totally worth my money. I know this game is grilled for repetitively mindlessly killing thousands of men (without shedding blood), but I think that's actually not quite true. Because when you play a campaign, you are assigned different characters in different levels, it's actually not that repetitive; you get to see different characters and different moves. The conquest mode might get a bit repetitive for people who don't have that much interest in the source materials, I would hazard to guess. So, if you never played any DW game, I recommend this. It would be fun. If you played DW before and didn't think much of it, then probably not for you. If you are a DW veteran and hasn't gotten bored or hasn't figured the story, this is also for you, lol.

I have every Dynasty Warriors, Samarai Warrior, Empire collection...this one was a HUGE disappointment. The Story/Musou mode can only be played in one player. For two player mode you need to select each stage seperately...which are no more than 5 minute battles. No versus mode, No extras at all, it seems to me they released unfinished. Great graphics but what's the point if you are planning to play in 2 player mode...not going to happen. It seems to me all the perks are missing, hence unfinished. Two-Thumbs DOWN! If you are looking for a Great Game Get the "Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes" Game...well worth every penny. Sengoku Basara Samurai Heroes You won't be disappointed with this one especially for 2 player mode. Basra is an awesome game. Good luck!

Allow me to start off by saying that I have played just about every Dynasty Warriors title (with the exception of Dynasty Warriors 5) available and keeping that in mind, I always thought that the third installment put forth the best effort. More recently, Dynasty Warriors 6 was released for the next generation consoles, and while it was great to finally be able to play as our favorite warriors in HD, it just seemed to me that things were "lacking." Now Dynasty Warriors 7 is released in all its glory for the world to see, and I must say...I am very pleased with what this game has to offer. So with all of that in mind, let's narrow things down a bit shall we? The Good: -Graphics. This is definitely the most visually appealing entry in the Dynasty Warriors series of games (though should that really surprise anyone)? All of the costume designs and character models prove that some actual work and effort were put into this release, and this can only be a plus for any video game. -Online Multiplayer. I have yet to test this feature out and once I am able to play the game a little bit more, I will edit my review and "fill in the gap" on this portion. However online multiplayer hasn't been available in past titles, so obviously something is better than nothing, right? Again, even if it ends up being horrible, at least we can finally be able to button-mash online with friends. Oh, and according to the case, the game is headset compatible. Yet again, I will update this portion soon. -Story Mode. I'll be honest, at first, I hated the first few battles I tried out within the newly developed "Story Mode" because they were different and unlike any of the past titles. Yet as I kept on playing, I realized I enjoyed it better. While you are able to choose between various kingdoms (Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin), you aren't able to choose a warrior to progress through the story. Instead, after you select your desired kingdom path, you're forcibly put into the shoes of an officer. Throughout various battles in the storyline, the character whom you play automatically changes (often after being introduced to/encountering new warriors that decide to join your kingdom). In addition to the actual gameplay of the Story Mode, the narrations before each battle are actually quite informative and in many cases (at least for me) you may feel like you're actually learning something. Imagine that? -Roster. I haven't even begun to unlock even 25% of the characters made available in this game, but one thing I know for sure, there is a vast quantity of them. Many of the old favorites and staples of the series (such as Lu Bu, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian) are all here, as well as many other characters (both old and new). Each character offers a different set of attacks and special moves that the player can learn and control, and if you're one of those players that likes to unlock and play as everyone, you will definitely find hours upon hours of fun and entertainment here. -3D. If you're into this sort of thing, and you have a 3D-ready television, then you are capable of playing this game in 3D. I actually didn't even know this would be a feature of the game until the moment I saw a notification on the case when the game arrived; it truly was an added bonus! Again, 3D isn't for everyone, but if it is your "cup of tea," then put on those glasses and step into the world of your favorite characters! The Bad: -Camera. Now I hope I don't get scolded for this one, but honestly, there are many times while I'm playing that the camera just doesn't seem to be showing me what I need to be seeing. In other words, many times, I'll just be swinging towards an enemy officer blindly, hoping that I'm actually hitting him because he is out of sight from the camera (in other words, he is on the other side of the camera if that makes sense). I don't know if this is just a small oversight that can be fixed through an update in the future or if they meant for this to happen, but I don't recall this being an issue in past games. It's not necessarily a big deal cause it doesn't really take away anything from the game, but just sometimes it looks stupid hitting something...yet seeing nothing. -Sound. Now don't get me wrong, the voice acting in this is the best in a Dynasty Warriors game to-date (at least in my opinion), and they really stepped up in that aspect of the series. The problem I have is with other sounds. In particular the galloping of a horse as you ride it. Unlike past Dynasty Warriors games, the galloping just sounds...artificial rather than natural (if that makes sense). I don't know what they did, but it just doesn't appeal to me as much as in past games...yet maybe I'm just being picky? There are other quirky sound moments, however they can easily be overlooked due to all the non-stop action that is taking place. There really isn't much wrong with this game (so far that I've discovered) that I can pick out. The developers really stepped up and did a remarkable job with this entry into the Dynasty Warriors series. Again, I'm going to edit my review somtime within the near future as I am able to play it a bit more, but thus far, here is my overall summary: Fun: 5/5 Graphics: 5/5 Sound: 3/5 Controls: 4/5 Replayability: 5/5 Conclusion: At the very least, rent the game, try it out, and see if the new style appeals to you. Like I said, at first the story mode might take some getting use to, but aside from that, you will be in for a great gaming experience! :)

Addicting. Great if you like hack and slash level grinding fun

I will try to be objective since I am kind of fan for DW series. This is just a quick review after I played "Shu" in story mode for about 3 hours. 0.I put it in '0' place because I think it is very important. For casual gamers, this game could be fun, simple and maybe boring in "Normal" difficulty. But please do not underestimate the action element of the game. only when you have played "Chaos" difficulty, you can feel that the action is somehow technical. From my experience in almost all DWs,Samurai Warrior 1&2, Musou Oruchi, you have to play the hardest difficulty to really get the essence of the game and the action. Now others comments: 1.Story mode is different from previous versions. You have to play different characters in different stages. 2.Story telling is definitely MUCH MUCH BETTER, actually pretty much consistent with the novel "Romance of the three kingdom"(at least in the first 3 hours of "Shu" story), but of course not real history... 3.Combo system goes back to DW5 and before(also similar to Samurai Warrior 1&2), feels like the combo I had been doing in the PS2 ages...not sure why Koei did that. Totally different from DW6 indeed. 4.The graphic does NOT look dramatically better,only get slightly improved in my opinion. The characters looks too beautiful...some female characters wear too little (considering this is in ancient China...this is impossible) 5.... Well, personally I like the game. For DW fan, I think this game will probably be the best of the whole series. For other "casual gamers" who want to start from DW7, I feel this is also a great start because:(long story short now) Best story telling ever. A easy combo system to start. Decent graphics. Challenging "Chaos" difficulty.(for other hardcore action gamer) If you want to hear anything negative about the game, go to IGN. Well I disagree with most of their points... (I will try to update more when I have time to play more)

Bought this because i liked the old ones when i was younger. No idea what i ever saw in this game it just got boring and repetitive. No problems with delivery or with it working just a lil buyers remorse i guess.

I don't think anyone would argue that 6 was a disaster. 5 was okay (Empires was a nice expansion), etc. 7 really ups the ante. For starters, it looks pretty lush; it's got some great artwork, probably the best in the series. The nicest thing is that it really adheres to the storyline; it's a nice mix between Records and Romance and stays on the path. Instead of playing a single character, it rather follows the progression of each kingdom. There's also a ton of challenges to keep you busy, if you're a bit OCD like myself. It's still got all that hallmark goofiness with cheesy korean metal, which I actually adore. I gotta say I haven't had this much fun with a DW game since the third one. I'd be surprised if they ever manage to top this outing.

This game is more interesting than DW6 because u get to play in Jin dynasty which is a new thing

Everything except Free Mode is great about this game

The game is fun for what it is. Don't expect extreme gameplay depth or stunning storylines, it is a brainless button masher but it's still just as fun as the originals. I wish it was more strategic and had better use of units, but hey, it is what it is.

Arrived early, perfect working order. The game is fantastic to play and can last at least 100 hours of gameplay before it gets boring.